


The Fundamentals of Keeping Her Safe

by grenadinehart (CompletelyCreative)



Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Break Up, Prompt Fic, References to Depression, Thunderstorms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-02
Updated: 2016-08-02
Packaged: 2018-07-28 23:02:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7660423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CompletelyCreative/pseuds/grenadinehart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Farkle knew a lot of things.  He knew how to keep her safe.   He knew how to calm her down.  He knew how to make her happy.  But he never knew if he could do it as well as Lucas did.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Fundamentals of Keeping Her Safe

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt fic for two! Send me one [here.](http://grenadinehart.tumblr.com/tagged/literally-send-me-one-right-now)
> 
> 103: "Are you strong enough?"  
> 109: "You want me to kiss you again."

The bay window was closed, the curtains drawn, and the lights off. The room was shrouded by shadow, and raindrops twinkled against the dark sky on the windows. To the untrained eye, it might seem that the room belonged to a vacationer who was gone for the month, but he was no amateur. He knew that if you pushed inwards on the frame of the bay window, the lock would become just askew enough to push up and open, and the curtains would start to billow against the wind. He knew to climb in silently (but he always hit his head anyway) and to close the window after him; he knew to draw the curtains back to let the gray light in; he knew to take his shoes off before climbing into her bed and wrapping his arms around her. Most importantly, he knew to squeeze her just a bit tighter every time lightning struck, to let her pull the duvet up around her ears. 

Those were the fundamentals of keeping her safe at night. The ‘Do’s’ to keep her from doing the ‘Dont’s.’ She was always a little worse during thunderstorms -- it didn’t matter if it was noon or midnight -- and she couldn’t get out of bed. She always said that she wanted to be alone around then, but Farkle knew better. He knew to be there by the second roll of thunder, he knew to bring licorice if he could, he knew to hum melodies to her that she hadn’t heard before. And Farkle knew not to leave Riley alone, despite how awkward it could potentially be.

As he listened to the rain and traced circles on her back, he thought about it. One of the worst nights of his life. It had been a hurricane, with torrential rains and rattling winds. He arrived to her room soaked through his clothes and panting, to find her curled up against the door, shivering and shaking. Her breath was shallow and her eyes wide, and she was muttering incoherently. He hadn’t known it at the time, but she had just arrived home from her and Lucas’s first real fight. All he knew back then was to close the window behind him. 

He can still remember crouching down in front of her and pulling her into a tight hug. He remembers her breath hitching as he whispered assurances to her, calm and sweet nothings, only to get her to even blink out of her frozen state. He pulled back and looked into her glazed eyes.

“Are you strong enough to stand?” She didn’t say anything in return, and lightning crashed through the city. With the following roll of thunder overhead, the building shook and the lights flickered. Farkle looked around the room, with long shadows and belongings scattered, and he wiped his shaky hands on his pants. He wordlessly put his arms around her shoulders and under her knees, and didn’t stop whispering now-shaky comforts to her as he placed her gingerly on her bed.

“Just thunder, Riles,” he had mumbled, pulling his soggy boots off of his feet and sitting next to her. He pulled her against him and gave her quick kisses all over. “Just thunder.” 

She shook less with every peck he gave. Fingers, knuckles, hands, shoulders, forehead, nose, cheeks. Cheeks, nose, forehead, shoulders, hands, knuckles, fingers. Imagining her lips. And then again. Every kiss was a ‘you’re safe.’ He felt like he should kiss her over one hundred times. He wished he could. He wished only he could kiss her one hundred times. And yet, she stopped him on thirteen.

“Farkle,” she had croaked as his lips left her left cheek. It was the first thing she had said all that night, and Farkle couldn’t help but let out a relieved sigh. The glaze over her eyes had melted and she no longer shook. The downpour had turned into a drizzle, and the moon’s light filtered through clouds. 

“Lucas and I had a fight.” And her voice had cracked. And lightning briefly lit the room, but it was so far away that it hadn’t made a sound. “And we’re on a break. And for once I don’t know how this is going to end.”

Farkle was sat, frozen as he heard the news, and the past hour made even more sense. She didn’t feel safe. How could she, when she had never handled something like this? No matter what he did, no matter how many kisses Farkle gave, he couldn’t make her safe. Not like this. He felt his cheeks heat up at the thought of thirteen kisses, and suddenly he was humiliated again. He couldn’t make her safe, only Lucas could. He didn’t know why he tried. 

And so he had put his shoes back on, and left with the window open. And he didn’t know quite why.

Of course, that was three months ago, and Lucas and Riley made up. But there were more fights, and more thunderstorms, and Farkle was still there each time. It was fine, he thought, as he layed there tracing circles on her back. It was the first time he had done it in a while, and so he waited, like always, for her to tell him that there was another fight, or they were on another break. No kisses, though.

And as always, as the rain started to let up into a drizzle, Riley took a deep breath and sat up against her headboard. She rested her head on his shoulder, and he took a deep breath, too.

“Lucas and I broke up,” she said sadly. “For good, this time.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Riles.”

“It happened a few weeks ago.”

A few weeks ago was the beginning of summer vacation, for most of which Lucas had been visiting Texas. So no-one heard what had happened, until now. All Farkle could say was, “oh.”

“We’re still friends, don’t worry,” said Riley. “I just wished it would’ve happened easier.”

“How so?” He traced her hand with his own. 

“We figured out that we love each other, but not in the same ways that we love others. We’re just not meant for each other.”

“So you both had feelings for different people?”

“I guess that’s what I’m saying, yeah.”

Farkle gulped and bit the inside of his cheek. He was familiar with the concept. But all he could say was, “that’s a shame.” 

“Not totally,” Riley shrugged. Her voice was growing stronger, and suddenly Farkle noticed rays of sunlight hitting the bay window. But his mind was still cloudy.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that we now get to be true to ourselves and our feelings,” a glimmer had returned in her eyes. “When Lucas gets back from Texas, he’s going to tell Maya how he feels.”

“He’s in love with Maya?” Farkle looked at Riley incredulously, but she had a peaceful look on her face.

“Yeah. I think he has been all along, really. He just needed to figure out his love for me, first. And so did I.”

“...And what did you figure out?”

“That I appreciated the wrong person. Now, I’m not saying that Lucas isn’t great -- he’s protective, smart, kind, and he was always making sure Maya was okay when it stormed out.”

“Maya’s afraid of thunderstorms?”

“It’s more the lightning that worries her. But yeah. Lucas and I realised that we might be dating the wrong people because of that. He deserves to be appreciate -- and be appreciated by -- Maya. Me…”

“You?” Farkle’s voice had become hoarse, but a smile snuck onto Riley’s face.

“I realised that it’s you I should’ve been appreciating all along.”

“M… What?” A blush rose to Farkle’s cheeks, and suddenly Riley was giggling.

“Yeah, you. You’ve always been there for me, Farkle. I only just realised it when you left.” She intertwined his fingers with hers. “I’ve always felt safe with you.” She leaned in and kissed him right on the lips; a safe, snug kiss. And then she pulled back.

Farkle’s eyes widened and his jaw went slack, and all he could do was blink.

“You… want me to kiss you again.” She laughed, and the sun was shining.

“One hundred times.”

**Author's Note:**

> My [tumblr](http://grenadinehart.tumblr.com)


End file.
